Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Basis of Presentation [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Note 1 - Basis of Presentation MGIC Investment Corporation is a holding company which, through Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation ("MGIC"), MGIC Indemnity Corporation (“MIC”) and several other subsidiaries, is principally engaged in the mortgage insurance business. We provide mortgage insurance to lenders throughout the United States and to government sponsored entities (“GSEs”) to protect against loss from defaults on low down payment residential mortgage loans. The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of MGIC Investment Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q as prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim reporting and do not include all of the other information and disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). These statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2012 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. As used below, “we,” “our” and “us” refer to MGIC Investment Corporation’s consolidated operations or to MGIC Investment Corporation, as the context requires. In the opinion of management the accompanying financial statements include all adjustments, consisting primarily of normal recurring accruals, necessary to fairly state our financial position and results of operations for the periods indicated. The results of operations for the interim period may not be indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2013. Capital The insurance laws of 16 jurisdictions, including Wisconsin, our domiciliary state, require a mortgage insurer to maintain a minimum amount of statutory capital relative to the risk in force (or a similar measure) in order for the mortgage insurer to continue to write new business. We refer to these requirements as the “Capital Requirements.” While they vary among jurisdictions, the most common Capital Requirements allow for a maximum risk-to-capital ratio of 25 to 1. A risk-to-capital ratio will increase if the percentage decrease in capital exceeds the percentage decrease in insured risk. Therefore, as capital decreases, the same dollar decrease in capital will cause a greater percentage decrease in capital and a greater increase in the risk-to-capital ratio. Wisconsin does not regulate capital by using a risk-to-capital measure but instead requires a minimum policyholder position (“MPP”). The “policyholder position” of a mortgage insurer is its net worth or surplus, contingency reserve and a portion of the reserves for unearned premiums. During part of 2012 and 2013, MGIC’s risk-to-capital ratio exceeded 25 to 1. In March 2013, our holding company issued additional equity and convertible debt securities and transferred $800 million to increase MGIC’s capital. At September 30, 2013, MGIC’s risk-to-capital ratio was 20.0 to 1, below the maximum allowed by the jurisdictions with Capital Requirements, and its policyholder position was $190 million above the required MPP of $1.2 billion. At September 30, 2013, the risk-to-capital ratio of our combined insurance operations (which includes reinsurance affiliates) was 22.7 to 1. A higher risk-to-capital ratio on a combined basis may indicate that, in order for MGIC to continue to utilize reinsurance arrangements with its subsidiaries or subsidiaries of our holding company, additional capital contributions to the reinsurance affiliates could be needed. These reinsurance arrangements permit MGIC to write insurance with a higher coverage percentage than it could on its own under certain state-specific requirements. At this time, we expect MGIC to continue to comply with the current Capital Requirements, although we cannot assure you of such compliance. Matters that could negatively affect such compliance are discussed throughout the financial statement footnotes. If MGIC fails to meet the Capital Requirements and is unable to obtain a waiver of them from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of the State of Wisconsin (“OCI”), MGIC could be prevented from writing new business in all jurisdictions. If MGIC were prevented from writing new business in all jurisdictions, our insurance operations in MGIC would be in run-off (meaning no new loans would be insured but loans previously insured would continue to be covered, with premiums continuing to be received and losses continuing to be paid on those loans) until MGIC either met the Capital Requirements or obtained a waiver to allow it to once again write new business. If MGIC fails to meet the Capital Requirements and is unable to obtain a waiver of them from a jurisdiction other than Wisconsin, MGIC could be prevented from writing new business in that particular jurisdiction. New insurance written in the jurisdictions that have Capital Requirements represented approximately 50% of our new insurance written in the first nine months of 2013. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) is reviewing the minimum capital and surplus requirements for mortgage insurers, although it has not established a date by which it must make proposals to change such requirements. Depending on the scope of proposals made by the NAIC, MGIC may be prevented from writing new business in the jurisdictions adopting such proposals. The GSEs, in conjunction with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) are also developing mortgage insurer capital standards that would replace the use of external credit ratings. Revised capital standards are expected to be released in 2013. We have not been informed of the revised capital requirements or their timeframes for effectiveness. We have various alternatives available to improve our existing risk-to-capital position, including contributing additional funds that are on hand today from our holding company to MGIC, entering into additional external reinsurance transactions, seeking approval to write business in MIC and raising additional capital. While there can be no assurance that MGIC would meet the GSE’s revised capital requirements by their effective date, we believe we could implement one or more of these alternatives so that we would continue to be an eligible mortgage insurer after the revised capital requirements are fully effective. A possible future failure by MGIC to meet the Capital Requirements will not necessarily mean that MGIC lacks sufficient resources to pay claims on its insurance liabilities. While we believe MGIC has sufficient claims paying resources to meet its claim obligations on its insurance in force on a timely basis, we cannot assure you that events that may lead MGIC to fail to meet Capital Requirements would not also result in it not having sufficient claims paying resources. Furthermore, our estimates of MGIC’s claims paying resources and claim obligations are based on various assumptions. These assumptions include the timing of the receipt of claims on loans in our delinquency inventory and future claims that we anticipate will ultimately be received, our anticipated rescission activity, premiums, housing values and unemployment rates. These assumptions are subject to inherent uncertainty and require judgment by management. Current conditions in the domestic economy make the assumptions about when anticipated claims will be received, housing values, and unemployment rates highly volatile in the sense that there is a wide range of reasonably possible outcomes. Our anticipated rescission activity is also subject to inherent uncertainty due to the difficulty of predicting the amount of claims whose policies will be rescinded and the outcome of any legal proceedings or settlement discussions related to rescissions. Matters that could negatively affect MGIC’s claims paying resources are discussed throughout the financial statement footnotes. We have in place a longstanding plan to write new business in MIC, a direct subsidiary of MGIC, in the event MGIC cannot meet the Capital Requirements of a jurisdiction or obtain a waiver of them. MIC is licensed to write business in all jurisdictions and, subject to certain conditions and restrictions, has received the necessary approvals from the OCI and the GSEs to write business. During 2012, MIC began writing new business in the jurisdictions where MGIC did not have waivers of the Capital Requirements. Because MGIC again meets the Capital Requirements, MGIC is again writing new business in all jurisdictions and MIC has suspended writing new business. As of September 30, 2013, MIC had statutory capital of $455 million and risk in force of approximately $950 million. The OCI and GSE approvals of MIC expire at the end of 2013 and we do not expect to need an extension of such approvals. Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s approvals of MIC contain certain conditions and restrictions to its continued effectiveness. Statement of Statutory Accounting Principles No. 101 (“SSAP No. 101”) became effective January 1, 2012 and prescribed new standards for determining the amount of deferred tax assets that can be recognized as admitted assets for determining statutory capital. Under a permitted practice effective September 30, 2012 and until further notice, the OCI has approved MGIC to report its net deferred tax asset as an admitted asset in an amount not to exceed 10% of surplus as regards policyholders, notwithstanding any contrary provisions of SSAP No. 101. Deferred tax assets of $132 million and $63 million were included in MGIC’s statutory capital at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively. Reclassifications Certain reclassifications have been made in the accompanying financial statements to 2012 amounts to conform to 2013 presentation. Restricted cash and cash equivalents During the second quarter of 2013, approximately $60.3 million was placed in escrow in connection with the two agreements we entered into to resolve our dispute with Countrywide Home Loans (“CHL”) and its affiliate, Bank of America, N.A., as successor to Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP (“BANA” and collectively with CHL, “Countrywide”) regarding rescissions. See additional discussion of these settlement agreements in Note 5 – “Litigation and contingencies.” Subsequent events We have considered subsequent events through the date of this filing.

Note 1 - Basis of Presentation

MGIC Investment Corporation is a holding company which, through Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation ("MGIC"), MGIC Indemnity Corporation (“MIC”) and several other subsidiaries, is principally engaged in the mortgage insurance business. We provide mortgage insurance to lenders throughout the United States and to government sponsored entities (“GSEs”) to protect against loss from defaults on low down payment residential mortgage loans.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of MGIC Investment Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q as prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim reporting and do not include all of the other information and disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). These statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2012 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. As used below, “we,” “our” and “us” refer to MGIC Investment Corporation’s consolidated operations or to MGIC Investment Corporation, as the context requires.

In the opinion of management the accompanying financial statements include all adjustments, consisting primarily of normal recurring accruals, necessary to fairly state our financial position and results of operations for the periods indicated. The results of operations for the interim period may not be indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2013.

Capital

The insurance laws of 16 jurisdictions, including Wisconsin, our domiciliary state, require a mortgage insurer to maintain a minimum amount of statutory capital relative to the risk in force (or a similar measure) in order for the mortgage insurer to continue to write new business. We refer to these requirements as the “Capital Requirements.” While they vary among jurisdictions, the most common Capital Requirements allow for a maximum risk-to-capital ratio of 25 to 1. A risk-to-capital ratio will increase if the percentage decrease in capital exceeds the percentage decrease in insured risk. Therefore, as capital decreases, the same dollar decrease in capital will cause a greater percentage decrease in capital and a greater increase in the risk-to-capital ratio. Wisconsin does not regulate capital by using a risk-to-capital measure but instead requires a minimum policyholder position (“MPP”). The “policyholder position” of a mortgage insurer is its net worth or surplus, contingency reserve and a portion of the reserves for unearned premiums.

During part of 2012 and 2013, MGIC’s risk-to-capital ratio exceeded 25 to 1. In March 2013, our holding company issued additional equity and convertible debt securities and transferred $800 million to increase MGIC’s capital. At September 30, 2013, MGIC’s risk-to-capital ratio was 20.0 to 1, below the maximum allowed by the jurisdictions with Capital Requirements, and its policyholder position was $190 million above the required MPP of $1.2 billion. At September 30, 2013, the risk-to-capital ratio of our combined insurance operations (which includes reinsurance affiliates) was 22.7 to 1. A higher risk-to-capital ratio on a combined basis may indicate that, in order for MGIC to continue to utilize reinsurance arrangements with its subsidiaries or subsidiaries of our holding company, additional capital contributions to the reinsurance affiliates could be needed. These reinsurance arrangements permit MGIC to write insurance with a higher coverage percentage than it could on its own under certain state-specific requirements.

At this time, we expect MGIC to continue to comply with the current Capital Requirements, although we cannot assure you of such compliance. Matters that could negatively affect such compliance are discussed throughout the financial statement footnotes.

If MGIC fails to meet the Capital Requirements and is unable to obtain a waiver of them from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of the State of Wisconsin (“OCI”), MGIC could be prevented from writing new business in all jurisdictions. If MGIC were prevented from writing new business in all jurisdictions, our insurance operations in MGIC would be in run-off (meaning no new loans would be insured but loans previously insured would continue to be covered, with premiums continuing to be received and losses continuing to be paid on those loans) until MGIC either met the Capital Requirements or obtained a waiver to allow it to once again write new business.

If MGIC fails to meet the Capital Requirements and is unable to obtain a waiver of them from a jurisdiction other than Wisconsin, MGIC could be prevented from writing new business in that particular jurisdiction. New insurance written in the jurisdictions that have Capital Requirements represented approximately 50% of our new insurance written in the first nine months of 2013.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) is reviewing the minimum capital and surplus requirements for mortgage insurers, although it has not established a date by which it must make proposals to change such requirements. Depending on the scope of proposals made by the NAIC, MGIC may be prevented from writing new business in the jurisdictions adopting such proposals. The GSEs, in conjunction with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) are also developing mortgage insurer capital standards that would replace the use of external credit ratings. Revised capital standards are expected to be released in 2013. We have not been informed of the revised capital requirements or their timeframes for effectiveness. We have various alternatives available to improve our existing risk-to-capital position, including contributing additional funds that are on hand today from our holding company to MGIC, entering into additional external reinsurance transactions, seeking approval to write business in MIC and raising additional capital. While there can be no assurance that MGIC would meet the GSE’s revised capital requirements by their effective date, we believe we could implement one or more of these alternatives so that we would continue to be an eligible mortgage insurer after the revised capital requirements are fully effective.

A possible future failure by MGIC to meet the Capital Requirements will not necessarily mean that MGIC lacks sufficient resources to pay claims on its insurance liabilities. While we believe MGIC has sufficient claims paying resources to meet its claim obligations on its insurance in force on a timely basis, we cannot assure you that events that may lead MGIC to fail to meet Capital Requirements would not also result in it not having sufficient claims paying resources. Furthermore, our estimates of MGIC’s claims paying resources and claim obligations are based on various assumptions. These assumptions include the timing of the receipt of claims on loans in our delinquency inventory and future claims that we anticipate will ultimately be received, our anticipated rescission activity, premiums, housing values and unemployment rates. These assumptions are subject to inherent uncertainty and require judgment by management. Current conditions in the domestic economy make the assumptions about when anticipated claims will be received, housing values, and unemployment rates highly volatile in the sense that there is a wide range of reasonably possible outcomes. Our anticipated rescission activity is also subject to inherent uncertainty due to the difficulty of predicting the amount of claims whose policies will be rescinded and the outcome of any legal proceedings or settlement discussions related to rescissions. Matters that could negatively affect MGIC’s claims paying resources are discussed throughout the financial statement footnotes.

We have in place a longstanding plan to write new business in MIC, a direct subsidiary of MGIC, in the event MGIC cannot meet the Capital Requirements of a jurisdiction or obtain a waiver of them. MIC is licensed to write business in all jurisdictions and, subject to certain conditions and restrictions, has received the necessary approvals from the OCI and the GSEs to write business. During 2012, MIC began writing new business in the jurisdictions where MGIC did not have waivers of the Capital Requirements. Because MGIC again meets the Capital Requirements, MGIC is again writing new business in all jurisdictions and MIC has suspended writing new business. As of September 30, 2013, MIC had statutory capital of $455 million and risk in force of approximately $950 million.

The OCI and GSE approvals of MIC expire at the end of 2013 and we do not expect to need an extension of such approvals. Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s approvals of MIC contain certain conditions and restrictions to its continued effectiveness.

Statement of Statutory Accounting Principles No. 101 (“SSAP No. 101”) became effective January 1, 2012 and prescribed new standards for determining the amount of deferred tax assets that can be recognized as admitted assets for determining statutory capital. Under a permitted practice effective September 30, 2012 and until further notice, the OCI has approved MGIC to report its net deferred tax asset as an admitted asset in an amount not to exceed 10% of surplus as regards policyholders, notwithstanding any contrary provisions of SSAP No. 101. Deferred tax assets of $132 million and $63 million were included in MGIC’s statutory capital at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made in the accompanying financial statements to 2012 amounts to conform to 2013 presentation.

Restricted cash and cash equivalents

During the second quarter of 2013, approximately $60.3 million was placed in escrow in connection with the two agreements we entered into to resolve our dispute with Countrywide Home Loans (“CHL”) and its affiliate, Bank of America, N.A., as successor to Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP (“BANA” and collectively with CHL, “Countrywide”) regarding rescissions. See additional discussion of these settlement agreements in Note 5 – “Litigation and contingencies.”

Subsequent events

We have considered subsequent events through the date of this filing.